Bitcoin Plunges Below $100,000 as Trump Tariffs Spark Market Chaos

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Bitcoin tumbled below $100,000 early Sunday as markets reacted to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, triggering a $200 billion cryptocurrency market sell-off.

The cryptocurrency market shed significant value, with every asset in the top 100 sinking into the red over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin, often considered a hedge against economic uncertainty, initially held steady but later plunged as risk-off sentiment spread. The sudden downturn led to $540 million in liquidations, mostly from overleveraged long positions.

Trump’s executive order, set to take effect Tuesday, imposes 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods. The administration justified the move under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, citing an “unusual and extraordinary threat” posed by illegal immigration and the fentanyl crisis.

“Gold, silver, bitcoin may crash,” said Robert Kiyosaki, investor and author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” in a post on X. “Good. Will buy more after prices crash. Real problem is debt, which will only get worse. Crashes mean assets are on sale. Time to get richer.”

Canada and Mexico have already pledged retaliatory measures, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirming levies on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods. Bloomberg Economics estimates the tariffs will push the U.S. average tariff rate to its highest level since the 1940s.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s recent comments have further fueled market uncertainty. “Banks are perfectly able to serve crypto customers as long as they can understand and service the risks,” Powell said at a press conference this week. Wall Street giants, led by BlackRock, have increasingly embraced bitcoin and crypto, with a fleet of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) helping to normalize the asset class.

Analysts remain divided on the long-term impact of Trump’s tariffs on Bitcoin. Some see rising trade tensions as a bullish narrative for cryptocurrencies, citing inflation concerns and increasing demand for alternative stores of value. “You simply have not yet grasped how amazing a sustained tariff war is going to be for Bitcoin in the long run,” said Jeff Park, head of alpha strategies at Bitwise.

Others warn of short-term liquidity shocks and market-wide risk aversion. “In the short term, Bitcoin still trades as a risk-on asset,” said Nic Puckrin, CEO of Coin Bureau. “If markets keep collapsing, it could bring BTC down with it and end the current cycle.”

The tariffs mark a significant shift in U.S. trade policy and have reignited fears of a global trade war. Meanwhile, Trump’s embrace of bitcoin and crypto—from his NFT collections to support for a U.S. bitcoin national stockpile—has led to a reversal in regulatory opposition, contrasting sharply with the Biden administration’s “Operation Choke Point 2.0” approach.